ICED EARTH new album

I just wanted to write to you on behalf of myself, and the band, to say thank you for the amazing growth that has been taking place on the Official Iced Earth Facebook Page. We have reached 300,000 likes in a very short time and there appears to be no end in sight.Since we have this special occasion, I thought I might share some exclusive news with you guys, right here, straight from the source:

The new ICED EARTH studio album is expected to have an October 2013 release date. It will be titled “PLAGUES OF BABYLON” and we are very excited about how killer things are sounding this early in the writing/demo process. Below are some of the song titles that will appear on the album.

1.) Plagues of Babylon2.) Democide3.) Among The Living Dead4.) The Resistance5.) If I Could See You6.) Peacemaker7.) Cthulhu8.) Parasite

I expect this album will be something very special! Stay tuned to this page for breaking news about ICED EARTH’s mega-packed schedule and coming tour dates. You will hear it here first!

Thanks again for your continued support of the band! We love you guys!

Leader Jon Schaffer has revealed that the new ICED EARTH studio album is expected to have an October 2013 release date. It will be titledPlagues Of Babylon and Schaffer states that "we are very excited about how killer things are sounding this early in the writing/demo process. I expect this album will be something very special!"

Below are some of the song titles that will appear on the album:

'Plagues of Babylon'

'Democide'

'Among The Living Dead'

'The Resistance'

'If I Could See You'

'Peacemaker'

'Cthulhu'

'Parasite'

From his new South American enclave, Jon Schaffer whetted BraveWords and fans' appetite yesterday for the next studio effort, currently under construction. "We're writing demos for the new album, about half way through the process. I have just a fraction of the gear I have in the States. I'm using a Macbook Pro and Apogee 1 for the converter. I've got a couple of guitars and a friend down here lent me a bass. It's somewhat more old school. We're going to finish the record in Europe. I think were going to record and maybe even mix it there this year. I don't want to be flying back and forth between Europe and Florida every weekend, like I did last time. You do festivals and then come back and record. It was a pain in the ass. I was jetlagged all summer. We're shooting for an October release, but if we don't catch that, it's no big deal, because the headlining tour starts in January. Starting from June on, we'll be busy for the next year and a half. We've got a serious plan and a big agenda rolling out right now.

As to the actual music, Schaffer added, "We've got seven pretty complex songs, but I'm going to continue working over the course of the next several weeks. Then the band's going to get together, in Europe, to hammer out the rest. We're going to explore other things, in the moment,which is something we haven't don in year and years. There will probably be two or three songs that we work on, 'OK, who has a riff?' Let's put it together and jam as a band. I can't remember, but it's probably Burnt Offerings or Dark Saga since we jammed like that. It will be fun.”

ICEDEARTH's Jon Schaffer - "We Would Really Like To Shoot For An October Release For The New Studio Album"

Geeks Of Doom's Obi-Dan has issued an interview conducted with ICEDEARTH mastermind Jon Schaffer. An excerpt from the chat follows:

Q: IcedEarth is pretty much booked up for the summer in Europe, then in January you are coming back for a big tour. Do you feel more at home here, is there a bigger response when you come to Europe?

A: "I don’t know, man. I mean, we are as successful in the States as we are in Europe, I would say they are equal. Clearly if you look at the per capita, the population, in a country like Greece we are much bigger there compared to anywhere else in the world, but that’s a very small market. Our goals are this summer we’re going to be recording the new studio album and in between the weekends where we perform festivals we’re going to be tracking. First we’re going to be rehearsing, working on the new songs and doing some in-person writing together. We got about seven songs finished so far and I think we’ll have another six or seven. We’re going to track in Europe and play festivals on the weekend and at some point I’ll be flying to Florida to mix the album there at Morrisound then we have a big announcement to make in the next week or two about more touring that’s going to happen in October, November, and then our headline world tour starts in January. So we’re starting in Europe but we’re going to be doing North, Central, South America, Asia, Australia, hopefully New Zealand this time around, so it’s a process. But we do love Europe, we love coming there, we’ve been coming there for 23 years now and have a lot of very loyal fans. So it’s cool but I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily different or bigger than the States. You have to look at it in a market base. But Germany is certainly like a second home to me just because I’ve been going there so long and I have a lot of very good friends there."

Q: And so are we looking at a new album end of this year early next year?

A: "Yeah. I mean, if we can stay on track, if we don’t have any delays, we would really like to shoot for an October release for the new studio album. If we end up having some kind of a delay because it’s going to be such a tight schedule and tight timeframe in order to hand the master into the label in order for them to get it prepared for an October release...then it’s going to be January when the new stuff comes out. But I think we’re going to make the deadline happen, I feel pretty confident about that. I’ve already got the theme happening, the album cover art concept is happening, the artist is starting to work on it this week. We’re really ahead of the curve on a lot of that stuff so we’re in good shape and I think unless something crazy happens we should be able to stay on point and have that October release."

Read the complete interview at this location.

Earlier this week, IcedEarth announced that Brent Smedley will be stepping down from drum duty for personal family reasons. The new drummer will be Raphael Saini and will be performing with the group starting this summer.

“I have family members that are elderly and frail and need my help here in Jacksonville,” Brent Smedley says. “It’s been one of the hardest decisions of my life but I simply cannot commit to the kind of schedule the band deserves and requires so I decided to ask permission to step down from my post.”

IcedEarth comments; “Brent has been a valued member of the group for a long time. We thank him for his contributions, friendship and energy and wish him all the best for the future. We want to welcome Raphael with open arms and are expecting for our fans to give him the welcome he deserves”

IcedEarth just released a concert from their World Dystopia Tour in many different formats, including BluRay, DVD and CD. Entitled Live In Ancient Kourion, it shows the band playing to a rabid, packed house in an ancient amphitheater in Cyprus and storming through an encompassing setlist of both fan favourites and deep catalog material.

The summer will be spent recording and mixing a new studio album entitled Plagues Of Babylon and playing various summer festivals. A headline tour has been announced kicking off in January 2014.

On October 11th, VOLBEAT embark on their arena tour in support of their fifth album, Outlaw Gentlemen And Shady Ladies. The quartet will be joined by a company of good friends and accomplices; ICED EARTH will be main support from October 11th in Milan until December 1st in Copenhagen.

Iced Earth's Jon Schaffer checks in with this update: "Band and crew have gathered and we have begun rehearsals for the Volbeat tour that kicks off this Friday in Milan. We are really excited to begin this new touring cycle even though it feels like the previous one only ended yesterday. It will certainly be killer to see you guys out there and hang with my brother Michael and the guys in Volbeat and their team.

On another note: we have been thinking of offering something special to our fans on this tour and here it is:

Jon Schaffer recently issued the following update in regards to the band's upcoming studio album, Plagues Of Babylon:

"We are proud to present you with the new cover art for Plagues Of Babylon. This is a seriously heavy album with a seriously brutal album cover. I’m sure it will go down as a classic in the epic Iced Earth catalog."

The album art, created by Eliran Kantor, can be seen below:

Plagues Of Babylontracklisting: 'Plagues Of Babylon' 'Democide' 'The Culling' 'Among The Living Dead' 'Resistance' 'The End?' 'If I Could See You' 'Cthulhu' 'Peacemaker' 'Parasite' 'Spirit Of The Times' 'Highwayman'

A previous message from Schaffer states: "We have completed recording, mixing, and mastering for the new album, Plagues OfBabylon. It’s been a long summer, but a very productive one. I am very proud of my band mates! Everyone kicked ass, and we made a really special record."